$350M Mixed-Use Project Moves Forward Near Atlanta

Toro Development Co. is moving forward with Medley, its mixed-use project to take shape in Johns Creek, Ga.

The firm paid $44 million for the 43-acre parcel that includes a four-story office building, a demolished office site and parking spaces. Groundbreaking is slated for later this year.

Upon completion, the $350 million campus will feature 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, alongside 110,000 square feet of office space and public greenspace. The property will also include 150 townhomes and 750 luxury apartments.  

A mixed-use campus in metro Atlanta

Announced in 2022, the project received the Johns Creek City Council’s approval early last year. Its first phase is anticipated to open in the third quarter of 2025.

Medley will rise at the intersection of Johns Creek Parkway and McGinnis Ferry Road, on the site of the former State Farm Insurance office park, and part of the city’s 192-acre Town Center. It was designed to be Johns Creek’s “third place”, an area for the community to gather outside of homes and offices. Downtown Atlanta is some 30 miles south.

The company plans to keep and renovate the existing office building that was previously owned by U.S. Realty Advisors, according to CommercialEdge data. Completed in 1999, it totals 135,367 square feet.

In addition, TDC will strip the building’s ground floor and convert it into retail and restaurant space. The development’s retail tenants are set to include Ford Fry’s Little Rey, CRÚ Food & Wine Bar, Fadó Irish Pub, Summit Coffee, Lily Sushi Bar, Knuckies Hoagies, Cookie Fix, Sugarcoat Beauty, BODY20 and AYA Medical Spa.   

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Mark Toro, John Kelley, Richard Munger, Vicky Boyce and Carla Cox are heading up the project’s construction. The development team also includes architecture firm Nelson Worldwide, alongside engineering firm Kimley-Horn and landscape architect Site Solutions.

Franklin Street’s Len Erickson and Kaitlyn Theriot are spearheading the retail leasing, while Stream Realty Partners’ Bryan Heller and Parker Welton are handling office leasing.

Atlanta’s mild office activity

The office market in Atlanta slowed last year with investment volume seeing a significant decline, according to CommercialEdge research. Yet, vacancy rates in the metro improved throughout 2023 and leasing activity picked up. As of November, approximately 3.1 million square feet of office space was under construction—accounting for 1.4 percent of total stock, a smaller figure than the national 1.7 percent.

Recently, Vero Capital and Prime Finance closed on equity recapitalization for a four-property office portfolio with one of the assets located in Alpharetta, Ga. The two-building Parkway at Avalon totals 197,000 square feet and is 26 miles from downtown Atlanta.